In a significant expansion of the venture capital landscape, Mike Moradi, co-founder and general partner of Oklahoma City-based Cortado Ventures, is spearheading a movement to democratize innovation by investing in seed-stage frontier technology companies across the U.S. Midcontinent. Featured in the NVCA’s "Meet a VC" series, Moradi and his firm are challenging traditional venture capital paradigms, positing that the most impactful founders are often those with deep, firsthand experience within critical industries, poised to transform them from the inside out. This strategic focus aims to connect invaluable industry experience with essential capital, customer access, and a robust support network, thereby fostering American innovation in regions historically overlooked by conventional venture capital.
Moradi’s journey into venture capital is deeply rooted in his extensive and often challenging entrepreneurial experiences. A six-time founder, he has navigated the complexities of building and leading companies across diverse, technically intricate sectors, including biopharmaceuticals and nanotechnology. His entrepreneurial odyssey began with a bold departure from dental school to launch his first company, an endeavor that ultimately failed. This initial setback, far from diminishing his ambition, served as a profound lesson in resilience and unwavering commitment. Moradi often recounts the experience, stating, "The lesson was to keep pushing past every obstacle, to not be discouraged by hearing the word ‘no,’ and to stay the course." This early crucible forged a tenacious spirit that would define his subsequent ventures.
Following this initial failure, Moradi achieved rapid success with his next company, which was swiftly acquired by a Fortune 100 enterprise. Later, a San Francisco Bay Area venture also culminated in an acquisition, though not without its own set of trials. This particular company nearly collapsed after securing an $18 million Series B financing round. The near-miss delivered a crucial insight: while capital can accelerate a company’s trajectory, speed is only advantageous when the business is moving in the correct strategic direction and possesses genuine readiness to scale. Moradi distilled this wisdom into a poignant observation: "A high valuation and a full bank account will happily let you scale the wrong thing." This realization underscored the critical importance of disciplined growth over mere capital accumulation.
Today, Moradi’s overarching mission is to infuse the entrepreneurial dynamism often associated with Silicon Valley into the burgeoning Midcontinent innovation ecosystem. His investment philosophy is meticulously calibrated, emphasizing the sequence and timing of capital deployment as much as the technological prowess of a company. He believes that financing should primarily facilitate the testing of assumptions, mitigate risks, and enable the achievement of significant milestones, rather than allowing a business to expand beyond its proven capabilities. This approach marries entrepreneurial optimism with rigorous evidence, strategic discipline, and a clear understanding of the next crucial validation points for a company.
Cortado Ventures was officially launched in 2020, a collaborative effort by Moradi and a team comprising seasoned founders, CEOs, and operators. Their collective aspiration was to establish the kind of venture firm they themselves wished had existed during their entrepreneurial careers – one that possessed an intrinsic understanding of the myriad decisions founders confront and could offer substantial value far beyond the initial capital injection. This foundational principle positions Cortado not merely as a financial investor but as a strategic partner deeply embedded in the operational realities of its portfolio companies.
The strategic focus on the Midcontinent is a cornerstone of Cortado’s investment thesis, driven by the region’s unique economic characteristics. The Midcontinent is home to a confluence of industries facing immense pressure to innovate and evolve, including energy, aerospace and defense, healthcare, manufacturing, mobility, and logistics. These sectors operate within inherently complex physical environments, rely on established supply chains, and navigate demanding customer relationships. Consequently, transforming these industries necessitates more than just a compelling software application; it demands a profound, nuanced understanding of their operational intricacies.
Cortado actively seeks out technical founders who possess this invaluable domain expertise. These individuals often have years of immersive experience within a hospital, factory, laboratory, energy company, aerospace program, or logistics network, enabling them to identify persistent problems and conceive innovative solutions. Their deep-seated experience provides immediate credibility with potential customers, invaluable insight into implementation challenges, and specialized knowledge that would be exceedingly difficult to cultivate from an external vantage point.
The geographical location itself confers a significant competitive advantage. The Midcontinent offers unparalleled proximity to critical industries and potential customers, boasts a technically skilled workforce, is supported by strong research institutions, benefits from complementary public funding initiatives, and provides lower company-building costs compared to traditional tech hubs. This confluence of factors creates a fertile ground for the development and scaling of frontier technologies. Cortado’s diverse portfolio vividly illustrates the breadth of innovation emerging from this environment, encompassing companies applying new technologies across space communications, industrial safety, critical infrastructure cybersecurity, advanced manufacturing, healthcare, energy, and mobility.
Crucially, Cortado’s strategy is not predicated on the notion that Midcontinent founders should receive investment merely due to historical undercapitalization in the region. Instead, it is built on the firm conviction that proximity to "hard problems" — the complex, real-world challenges faced by established industries — is a potent catalyst for producing differentiated companies and generating robust financial returns. As Moradi eloquently states, "Talent is not concentrated anywhere in particular. Capital and networks have just been slower to distribute than talent has." This perspective underscores the belief that by expanding the geographical reach of venture capital, investors can tap into overlooked sources of insight and innovation, thereby broadening the map of American ingenuity.
When Cortado Ventures first embarked on its mission, Moradi initially believed that the primary constraint impeding the growth of a nascent venture ecosystem was a dearth of capital. The firm successfully demonstrated that promising companies could indeed be identified and funded within the region. However, as Cortado matured and expanded its operations, Moradi’s understanding of founders’ needs evolved significantly, revealing a more expansive requirement beyond mere financial injection. He candidly admits, "Five years ago, I would have said the limiting reagent in a young ecosystem was capital. Capital turned out to be necessary, and also nowhere close to sufficient."
This realization illuminated the multifaceted support required by founders. Beyond capital, they need experienced operators who can help them circumvent preventable pitfalls, pioneering customers willing to embrace unproven technologies, supportive investors prepared to bridge funding gaps between milestones, and a vibrant community conducive to forging crucial relationships. Moradi emphasizes, "Money can accelerate a company. It cannot stand in for experience." Industry observers frequently point to this holistic approach as vital for nurturing resilient startups, particularly in emerging ecosystems where established support networks may be less dense.
This expanded understanding profoundly shaped Cortado’s role within the broader Midcontinent ecosystem. The firm actively works to interconnect founders, funders, universities, corporations, policymakers, and technical experts, rather than exclusively reserving these vital relationships for its own portfolio companies. This inclusive approach fosters a collaborative environment, exemplified by initiatives like its annual Midcontinent Venture Capital Summit, which convenes investors, limited partners, founders, and ecosystem leaders from across the nation. Cortado also collaborates closely with regional entrepreneurship organizations and The Verge, an Oklahoma City-based incubator and accelerator that provides essential company-building resources, programming, and critical capital connections. Each of these interactions serves as a potential conduit for a founder to secure a customer, adviser, employee, collaborator, or investor. Collectively, these relationships construct the indispensable infrastructure that enables more companies to successfully launch and scale. For Moradi, this is where venture capital’s impact transcends a singular investment, contributing to a stronger ecosystem that provides more entrepreneurs with viable pathways to company formation and creates broader opportunities for capital, talent, and innovation to converge.
In the realm of early-stage investing, perfect information is a rare commodity. Moradi succinctly captures this reality: "Incomplete data is my job description." Rather than attempting to eliminate uncertainty entirely, his strategy involves meticulously separating assumptions that can be immediately tested from those that will only be resolved over time. He rigorously identifies the critical conditions that must hold true, actively considers how these conditions could be disproven, and meticulously evaluates the cost associated with achieving the next meaningful milestone. His strongest convictions typically revolve around the founding team’s capabilities, the authenticity of the customer problem being addressed, and the company’s demonstrated rate of progress. Conversely, he exercises greater caution when attempting to predict the precise timing of an emerging market or the eventual exit path a company might take.
This disciplined approach becomes particularly crucial when a financing round is progressing rapidly. The allure of a compelling founder and the pressure of a competitive process can often create an impetus to reach a decision before the central investment assumptions have been thoroughly vetted. Moradi warns against this pitfall, observing, "A hard deadline is exactly when people stop asking uncomfortable questions." When circumstances necessitate it, Cortado will deliberately slow down the process, engaging independent scientific or technical experts for a deeper evaluation. This additional diligence may either reinforce the firm’s conviction or uncover reasons to step away from the investment. Paradoxically, Cortado’s most robust founder relationships have often originated from this initial scrutiny, as it sharpens strategic thinking and identifies risks while there is still ample opportunity to address them. However, slowing the decision-making process does not equate to delaying the response; prompt communication remains paramount.
Moradi applies the same rigorous discipline to valuation. He firmly believes that "A sensible entry price is a form of protection for the founder, employees, and investors alike." While an aggressive valuation might initially feel like a triumphant victory, if the company’s subsequent progress fails to meet the elevated expectations tethered to that valuation, the repercussions can be severe. These consequences can adversely impact founder ownership, dilute employee equity, constrain future fundraising options, and diminish the company’s crucial ability to adapt to evolving market conditions. This dynamic, however, is a double-edged sword, as venture capitalists can also inadvertently stifle a company’s potential through excessively low valuations; striking a crucial balance is key. Moradi’s long-term perspective is clear: "The right number buys you options for years. In boom times, people forget that financial crises happen." For Cortado, this discipline is not indicative of a lack of belief in a founder’s ambition; rather, it is a strategic mechanism to equip an ambitious company with the flexibility and time essential for long-term success.
The operational experience embedded within Cortado’s team—having built, scaled, and exited companies across many of the industries in which they invest—profoundly shapes their approach to founder support. This practical background is invaluable when plans inevitably shift or difficult decisions emerge. Moradi distills meaningful support into two core principles: "Speed and specificity." He elaborates, "Answer in hours rather than days and show up with work already done instead of advice. Better yet, pick up the phone." This proactive engagement might involve rebuilding a financial model, facilitating a critical customer introduction, assisting in recruiting a senior executive, or taking ownership of a challenging aspect of a board conversation. It also encompasses the difficult but necessary task of speaking uncomfortable truths when a company’s runway is shortening or its strategic direction requires a fundamental pivot. Moradi, drawing from his own past, vividly recalls being the founder in such meetings: "What helped was someone who lowered the temperature, told the truth to me and the board, and followed up after the meeting."
As Cortado and the surrounding ecosystem have matured, the firm’s founder support has grown increasingly sophisticated. Portfolio companies now benefit from a rich network of operating executives, industry specialists, advisers, prospective customers, coaches, investors, and other founders within the firm’s extensive reach. Concurrently, the needs of founders have also evolved. While capital scarcity in the region once made Cortado’s investment and its ability to attract additional investors particularly valuable, today founders increasingly require direct customer access, senior talent acquisition, specialized technical expertise, and candid, honest guidance. The firm’s role is not to usurp control from the entrepreneur; in fact, sometimes the most valuable contribution an investor can make is discerning precisely when not to intervene. As Moradi acknowledges, "Other times, being helpful means staying out of the way."
Moradi firmly believes that a venture firm’s responsibility extends far beyond the confines of its own portfolio. "We must build things that outlast a single fund," he asserts. For Cortado, this translates into actively strengthening the connections among founders, funders, universities, corporations, and policymakers. It also involves fostering the formation and growth of more investment firms within the Midcontinent region. Moradi articulates this collaborative vision: "This is not a zero-sum game. We want to enable a dozen other firms in our geography, and bring in outside funds for later rounds. We need to create scalable structures where everyone can win." A larger, more interconnected investment community offers founders a wider array of potential capital sources and expertise, while simultaneously creating more opportunities for investors to collaborate and participate in promising ventures. Over time, this collective effort can establish a more durable pathway between regional innovation and national capital markets.
This commitment to ecosystem building, however, does not diminish a firm’s primary responsibility to its limited partners. Moradi’s experience as a trustee and audit committee member for a state retirement system deeply reinforced the paramount importance of transparency regarding investment risk, duration, and potential losses. He emphasizes, "Ecosystem building matters, and it does not excuse any of us from being disciplined fiduciaries first." Cortado also recognizes the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) as a vital component of the connective infrastructure supporting firms and founders nationwide. Policy issues such as capital formation, research commercialization, immigration, government procurement, tax treatment, and securities regulations are not abstract concepts; they directly influence an emerging manager’s ability to raise a fund, a startup’s capacity to attract talent, and a new technology’s pathway to reach the customers and institutions that desperately need it. Moradi notes, "NVCA helps each of us make policy concrete and stay on top of the issues that matter in D.C. and beyond." Participation in the NVCA also affords Cortado a crucial platform to bring a Midcontinent perspective into national dialogues concerning innovation, capital formation, and the future trajectory of the venture industry.
Moradi hopes that Cortado’s story will illuminate the true breadth and diversity of American venture capital. While the industry’s largest firms often capture the most media attention, the vast majority of venture activity involves smaller investors writing early checks into highly specialized industries, technologies, communities, and regions. "Most of VC looks nothing like the caricature. The bulk of the industry is small firms writing early checks into some niche, be it industrial, geographic, demographic, or otherwise. And a VC firm is also a startup until fund 3 or 4," he explains. These smaller, specialized firms play an indispensable role in identifying founders before their markets become obvious, skillfully connecting specialized knowledge with essential capital, and guiding companies through the challenging period between a promising idea and a sustainable business. Moradi underscores this arduous phase: "The hardest work happens after the money moves."
The advent of new technologies is rendering this work even more consequential. Advancements in artificial intelligence, automation, advanced manufacturing, energy innovation, biology, and space technology are dramatically reducing the cost barriers to pursuing ambitious ideas. Small, agile teams can now tackle opportunities that once demanded the vast resources of a large corporation or a national program. Significantly, many of these innovative teams are emerging in locations intimately connected to the complex problems they are striving to solve. This constitutes the broader, transformative impact of expanding venture capital across America. When investors intentionally look beyond familiar networks and actively meet founders in regions where critical industries operate, they catalyze the transformation of more ideas into viable companies, enable more groundbreaking technologies to reach the market, and empower more communities to actively participate in the nation’s dynamic innovation economy. For Moradi, the founders who dare to attempt what others deem impossible remain the most profound reason for optimism. He concludes with a powerful reminder of venture capital’s ultimate purpose: "Never forget that we’re here for them. When we do this right, everyone, including humanity, wins." Cortado Ventures’ pioneering efforts are not just about financial returns; they are about fundamentally reshaping the landscape of American innovation for a more inclusive and prosperous future. To learn more about the firm, visit cortado.ventures.
